Modern India

Suppression of 1857 revolution by the British

The English officials could not predict the prevalence of this revolution. So the English army did not take any action against the rebellion even after two days. The suppression of Rebellion was started from Delhi first.

Henry Bernard with his army was sent to Delhi. The army of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah attacked and retracted the English army.

Lack of efficient control and the tyranny of Indians by the British Army

Indian soldiers in Delhi lacked in efficient war operation. Therefore, they were unable to stop the aid coming from Punjab. On the contrary, the English platoon was under the command of the experienced commander.

The big tankers reached Delhi from Punjab in August- September. There was an explosion on Kashmiri Gate on September 14, 1857, and after the fierce war of six days, the British took over various places of Delhi by 20th September. Bahadur Shah, his wife Zeenat Mahal, and his son were exiled from India on 21 September.

They were captive in Rangoon, where the last Mughal emperor died in 1862.

After took over Delhi, the British brutally killed innocent people. Although the rebels had murdered the British, these incident were happened during the period of rebellion, but the British did that carnage after the rebellion. The British bloodshed not only soldiers but also ordinary civilians.

According to the Times newspaper, the scene of loot and destruction of Delhi was just like the Nadir Shah’s Katal-e-aam in Shahjahan city.

The British took over Kanpur in July 1857, but the Tatya Tope continued the struggle. The British put all their efforts to catch him.

Tatya Tope struggled with the British by the end of 1859, but in the end, the traitor Man Singh caught him in the forests of Alwar. It is said that the Tatya Tope was hanged, but many historians say that the person who was hanged was not a Tatya Tope. The British regained control over most of the areas by June 1858.

General Neal and General Havelak, the way they passed, slaughtered innocent men, women and children. Similar treatment was done with the citizens of Jhansi and Lucknow. Hanging and encounter was common. The way the English army passed; there was nothing but the corpses.

The atrocities by the British-

In Allahabad and Banaras, General Neel burnt the villages and ruined the crops of farmers. People were capital punished without any trial in June 1857.

Thousands of people were hanged on trees in the market. Historian John has written that for three months, there were eight vehicles were busy taking away the bodies from markets.

No one escaped their lives because they seen every person as a rebel. Probably they wanted to tell the Indians that the revolt against the British Empire was not easy.

It is surprising, that these atrocities were done by those Indian English administrators who called themselves civilized, progressive and educated.

Reference : https://www.indiaolddays.com/

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